2017 Deborah Cass Prize shortlist announced

Thursday, November 23, 2017

By:

Writers Victoria and the Deborah Cass Trust

Writers Victoria and the Deborah Cass Prize Committee are pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2017 prize.

The Prize is for unpublished migrant writers and was established in the memory of Deborah Cass (1960-2013), an established Australian lawyer and aspiring writer, whose grandparents were Jewish migrants from Eastern Europe.

Dan Cass, brother of Deborah, said ‘The quality and number of entries shows the wealth of stories waiting to be told about the migrant experience.’

Angela Savage, Director of Writers Victoria, said ‘Writers Victoria is proud to be a partner in this competition because it promotes diverse voices.’

The winner receives a cash prize of $3,000 plus a three-month mentorship with an established writer. The winning manuscript is presented to Black Inc publishers for consideration and there is also the opportunity for publication of the winning excerpt in Mascara Literary Review.

This is the first year the prize has been open to writers from around Australia and saw 91 entries from all states and territories except Tasmania and the Northern Territory. It was previously open only to writers from Victoria and last year saw 39 entries.

2017 Shortlist

Lur Alghurabi Letters from the Grave (Iraq)

Antonella Fedele The Good Immigrants (Italy)

Rafeif Ismail Almitra among the Ghosts (Sudan)

Mary Manias The Olive Tree (Greece)

Alexandra Mavridis Grecian Silhouettes (Greece)

Jenni Mazaraki Koukla (Greece)

Sivashneel Sanjappa The Journey Home (Fiji)

Fatima Sehbai Mithu and Sakina (Pakistan)

Jessie Tu Another Country (Taiwan)

Yen-Rong Wong Cultural harmonies and cacophonies (Malaysia-China)

Award night with Nyadol Nyuon

Wednesday 13 December, 6-8pm

Level 2, 39 Little Collins Street (between Exhibition and Spring)

The winner will be announced at an award night by Australian lawyer and writer Nyadol Nyuon, who was a Sudanese refugee. Christos Tsiolkas, Alice Pung and Tony Ayres are the judging panel again in 2017.

Mentorships at Writers Victoria

Entries are now open for The Ada Cambridge Writing Prizes (The Adas). For the first time, submissions for prose and poetry are open to all writers who live in Victoria. The Young Ada Short Story Prize remains open to 14-18-year-olds, who live, study or work in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Winners...